Galileo is the number 1 science programme in Germany which airs for an hour each evening and is avaialable in Austria and Switzerland too. The producer picked up our story from Der Spiegel. earlier in the year.

The crew spent two days living with us, filming our lifestyle and generally digging around in the dirt to see what we got up to.

We took them shopping, showed them how we cooked and gave them a grand tour of our recycling centre.

This week the programme is hosting a ‘Green 7’ series where they highlight environmental stories from around the world and last night our story featured on their programme! The plan was they would take our ideas back to Germany and challenge a family to live in the same way, using the facilities they have over there.

Within an hour of the programme being aired we had several gorgeous emails from people who had watched the programme and our facebook page was flooded with new ‘likers’.

So it’s safe to say the Green’s went to bed on a high last night.

I must admit, between you and me, I’ve been on a bit of a downer recently. Sometimes you get to a plateau in life where you question everything you are doing and why you are doing it. The past month has been one of those months for me.

However reading the comments from new people such as Anna-Lena who said “you really inspired me to follow your kind of living”. Or Chrsitoph who shared “watched galileo right now … and – wow your doin a great job. im really thinking of doing that myself”. Followed by Harrison who wrote “i just saw you on german tv! really a great idea! i’ll try to do it your way. thanks for inspiration!” I’ve got a smile back on my face. You just never know who you are going to pass the baton to next or who is going to take one of your ideas and impliment it.

Let that be a lesson to us all – keep on sharing, inspiring and doing what you do because you never know who is watching …

You’ll be able to watch the programme but you might need to fiddle around a bit; for example I can watch it on my laptop on Firefox but not on Opera and I can’t view it at all on my ipad. So if at first you don’t succeed; try a friend’s computer, pop to the library or use another browser 😉

I am a long time supporter of the Green and Sustainable lifestyle. After being caught in the Boscastle floods in 2004, our family begun a journey to respect and promote the importance of Earth's fragile ecosystem, that focussed on reducing waste. Inspired by the beauty and resourcefulness of this wonderful planet, I have published numerous magazine articles on green issues and the author of four books.

Comments (14)

Hi, I enjoyed the documentary very much even if I don’t understand german. I was able to pick some ideas just watching and getting some of the english spoken. I follow your blog regularly and I find it inspiring even from Italy.
This is one inspiring line I read on the italian newspaper Il Fatto Quotidiano yesterday; it was from an interview to Stuart Milk, nephew of Harvey Milk, the american gay politician killed in 1978: Question: Ever thought of giving up? S.M. “Harvey was non a cristian, but he often went to church congregations to explain his reasons. They whistled and boohed at him and I used to ask him: Why do you do this? and this was his answer: Among the one hundred people who were there, I saw one, perhaps two, who were not howling at me. They listened to me. Q: And is that enough? S.M.: This is the beginning. Always.
Being myself a bit down recently, I found these words inspiring. I hope you will enjoy them too!
Gook luck and don’t give up, everybody!

I managed to see the advert, but then it said the video was not available, either for technical reasons or because they aren’t allowed to show it in my country. I am using Firefox, so who knows why. It must have been good if you inspired people in the land where recycling and rubbish reduction is part of everyday life – in some states, any way. I’ll always remember all the ‘sortieren’ we had to do when we were in Ulm for 6 weeks, and we had to take all the recycling to the nearby tip by foot.

I think that’s a lovely sentiment, Mrs. G…. that we may always be inspiring others! I truly believe you are right. At our home, things that have become second nature to us– like putting banana peels in the compost bucket, tossing beer bottles in the recycling bin and not the trash– sometimes confuse or bewilder guests on their first or second visit. But inevitably, it starts a dialogue. Friends and family who want to know “Where’s your trash can?” are asked “Why, what do you have?” I love when they then want to ask questions. It’s fun to think we could be inspiring others with our actions every day!

How exciting to make another TV program! Kudos again to the Greens, and please DO keep up the good work!

Hi I just saw the Galileo documentation on the Galileo homepage and I am absolutely delighted by your way of life!
I really hope that there are some more people who think and live like you!
Thanks for this wonderful clip!
greetings from Austria

Great to see the family featured on German TV. Let us not forget the contributions from Germany to our Zero Waste trend. Wooden toothbrushes and Schogetten chocolate are 2 fine examples which have broken the stranglehold previously enjoyed by the plastic industry here. Toothpaste packaging remains a remain a problem area. We look to our friends in Germany, and elsewhere, for another game-changing Zero Waste Alternative.

@Paola: Hi Paola, thank you for your comment and for sharing that wonderful quote. 99% of the time I feel exactly that way too – I just have my off days! Thanks for your support and I’m glad you enjoyed the [email protected]Karin: Thanks for persevering Karin; it does seem to be a bit temperamental over here. You can read the whole post about Mr G’s ‘jumpabag’ http://mzw.wpengine.com/2008/07/shopping-without-reusable-bag/
@CarSue: Thanks Sue, yep we get strange looks when we say we haven’t got a bin, but interesting conversation always follows 😉
@Julie Day: Thanks Julie; keep up the great work
@Stephanie: Hi Stephanie; lovely to see you and thank you for stopping by to comment
@martin: Hello Martin; welcome to the site. We try and recycle as much as we can, but to be honest we try and REDUCE first by not buying things we cannot responsibly dispose of. For hygiene items I’m not sure what you mean – toothbrushes can be composted (we buy wooden ones), toothpaste tubes can be recycled for a charitable cause. you’ll see lots more details about things like deodorant and shampoo in this post: http://mzw.wpengine.com/2011/04/greenwasher/ Is there anything else I’ve missed that you’d like to know about?
@John Costigane: thanks John; it was indeed great to share stories about Lidls (which I’ve learned first hand is not pronounced how I once thought 😉 )

After the success Nestle had in ending the ‘plastic Easter Egg’ as standard, Heinz has joined the club in removing plastic from some of its products. Tomato Sauce, and Tomato Sauce in Balsamic Vinegar, both have glass bottled, metal capped and paper-labelled alternatives. The metal cap, in particular, may have the same effect as the Nestle card tray replacement. Enthusiasts, and other consumers, can do their bit in making the sustainable choice, with the best environmental outcome.

@John Costigane: I’ll have a look for the products you mention John; thanks for the heads up. I’m a bit annoyed with Heinz at the moment for launching their huge plastic capped tubs of baked beans; I can see why they are doing it (to reduce food waste if you don’t eat an entire tin) but I’m not at all convinced.

@Mrs Green: Of course, Heinz are not purely Zero Waste enthusiasts since they are dealing with market realities, and their own pursuit of competitive advantage. We can influence them, just as with other good companies, by promoting, and purchasing, their good products. The transformation in Easter Eggs has shown the value of good business contacts and should guide future efforts.